Samsung’s New Year’s Resolution: Get Rid of Old Habits

In his annual speech at the start of the new year, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee highlighted how tough the competition has been in 2013 and emphasized the pressing need to move away from old habits and come up with new technologies.

“Research & development center(s) should work around the clock, non-stop,” Mr. Lee said according to a statement provided by Samsung.

He also said Samsung must “get rid of business models and strategies from five, ten years ago and hardware-focused ways.”Boosting software capabilities has been a key challenge for Samsung as it tries to compete better with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the mobile market. Though the South Korean company is currently the largest seller of mobile phones, its traditional strength has been hardware not software.Investors have also shown concerns about Samsung’s future outlook as they drove the company shares down by about 10% in 2013 despite Samsung’s record-breaking earnings results, largely driven by its smartphone sales. The company’s shares started the new year with a 4.6% drop Thursday as the growth momentum for its key mobile unit cools.

At the start of every year, South Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG all hold year-opening ceremonies with speeches from top executives.

Mr. Lee, 71 years old, was one of them, seen walking into the ceremony venue supported hand-in-hand by his eldest daughter Lee Boo-jin.

The comments weren’t as wild as the ones he made about 20 years ago when he urged Samsung executives and employees to “change everything except for your wife and children.” It’s a famous quote that is frequently cited in local media reports as well as tens of books published on Samsung.

This year, Mr. Lee also noted how exhausting the patent battles with rivals overseas had been. Samsung, which has fighting with Apple Inc. in courts around the globe over patent infringement, owes the Cupertino-based company nearly $1 billion in damages.